1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to garment storage and, more particularly, to laundry hampers and sorters for storing and pre-sorting of garments prior to laundering them.
2. General Background of the Invention
Laundry hampers, and laundry sorters, comprising a garment storage hamper having two or more adjacent storage compartments within a common housing, have been known for some time. Today, such laundry sorters, in particular, often feature multiple removable laundry bags adjacently supported by a common frame. The use of removable laundry bags facilitates pre-sorting of garments by type prior to washing, such as separating white, light color, and dark color fabrics, so that each pre-sorted group of garments may be loaded directly into a washing machine. The use of removable laundry bags permits individual loads of pre-sorted laundry to be separately transported for placement within a washing machine.
Prior art laundry sorters having removable laundry bags, such as the one disclosed in U.S. Pub. No. 2006/0157358 A1, are commonly top loading in construction, meaning that removal and replacement of each supported laundry bag requires that the bag must be vertically lifted above the frame, in order to clear, among other structures, a top front horizontal bar or similar structure of the frame. Particularly during removal of the laundry bags, when they may be relatively heavily loaded with garments, vertically raising the bag above the frame may be cumbersome or difficult, particularly if the user is not physically strong, is relatively short in height, or is suffering from lower back pain or other physical ailment.